4. Minimal post-processing applied to the images. Only exposure compensation (brightness/contrast) and cropping performed for better consistency and overall presentation. Apart from that, the images were as good as straight out of camera (color and sharpness)

Recently there has been quite a buzz surrounding the upcoming Olympus E-P2 replacement model, thanks to leaks of many sources everywhere. Yes, the Olympus PEN E-P3 is here, and once again, Olympus Malaysia has approached me with a loaned unit for review purposes. Boy was I excited!! During my brief encounter in reviewing the E-P3, I have come across many unexpectedly pleasant surprises which I am about to share with all of you beautiful readers out there in this PART 1 of Olympus E-P3 Review.

Olympus PEN E-P3 and M.Zuiko 12mm f2 (in keychain mode)

Sorry, pun intended. I saw the advertising shots of the Pentax Q system (at least two photos) where the camera was used as a keychain, and they had stuck in my mind I had to do something to get it out of my head.

Seriously, who with a sane mind in the world would do something like this?

Before we dive right into the review, allow me to clarify a few items. This review will be written from a photography-enthusiast’s point of view, because I am not a professional photographer. This will be a user experience based review, sharing on what I think and feel as I use the E-P3 in real life shooting situations. Therefore, this is not a technical review as there will not be elaborative technical explanations, which can be easily accessible on many professional review websites such as DPreview. In addition to that, I will not be doing direct side by side image and performance comparisons between E-P3 and any other cameras. Instead, I will share my opinion on how different the experience was shooting with the new E-P3. In a nutshell, it is about what I can do with the camera, not what the camera can do by itself.

I have written extensively in my recent blog entries about my general thoughts on the overall Olympus PEN system. I strongly believe that PEN is a very capable system, and is indeed the way to go for the future. However, all the PEN cameras since the E-P1 days have been held down by a few limitations, which I think many users from all around the world shared the same frustration with. Firstly, Olympus has used the same 12MP sensor for E-30, E-620, E-P1, E-P2, E-PL1, E-PL2, and E-5, for the span of the last two years. There were improvements made after each model in terms of image quality and optimization of the sensor output but lets face it, when you use the same sensor for seven cameras consecutively people are going to give up at some point. Secondly, the slow and at (occasional) times, unreliable (contrast detect) AutoFocus system. Seriously, shooting experience just could not get any worse than a lens hunting for focus and refusing to lock it, consequently missing decisive moments, for some only happen once in a lifetime. Those are the two major things that grounded the PEN series which could have been otherwise a great camera system.

For the first time, Olympus is finally listening. There is a NEW sensor in E-P3, which was fully designed by Olympus itself. On top of that, the E-P3 has the world’s fastest autofocus (even faster than advanced DSLR). This is certainly great news to all.

When I was being briefed about the E-P3, I was blown away by all the improvements and additional features that are included. I shall highlight a few that I believe are important to me as a photography-enthusiast:

Obviously I will not able to cover everything in this entry. Therefore, there will be multiple part blog reviews where I can separate and explore different aspects of the camera extensively.

In this particular entry, I shall be focusing on two items:1) New Olympus 12MP sensor: Resolution, Dynamic Range and Colours2) New M.Zuiko 12mm F2 lens for outdoor shooting

1/800s, F/2, ISO200

Although I placed the lady's head at the edge of the frame, the distortion seems very minimal.

1/250s, F/2, ISO200

Apam balik, a local Malaysian delicacy.

Close up capability of the 12mm lens, and the delicious bokeh of F2.

1/2000s, F/2, ISO500

1/640s, F/2, ISO500

The transition from the darkest region to the brightest part of the frame is amazingly smooth and pleasing.

1/160s, F/2, ISO200

Perspective exaggeration of 12mm wide angle to emphasize on hand action.When the subject is placed at the extreme edge of the screen, the subject appeared larger and "stretched", which can look unpleasant. This is due to the perspective distortion which happens with all wide angle lenses. I used it to my advantage to emphasize on hand actions.

1/125s, F/2, ISO200

Handling of multiple colors are amazing. Although there was a strong red color cast on the skin, but the skin tone still came out pleasing and believable.

1/800s, F/2, ISO200

The autofocus of E-P3 was fast enough for me to snap this shot before the lady on the right started to move down from the table.

1/50s, F/2, ISO400

Olympus made a lot of improvement in the Red color, it looks very different somehow, and more realistic.

One glorious morning, I brought the E-P3 and the 12mm lens (only the 12mm lens) to Pudu Wet Market, Malaysia’s largest open-air market. I chose the market as a testing ground for the E-P3 mainly because there were many photography subjects to attack ranging from friendly fishmongers and butchers to richly colored vegetables and fruits. At the same time, the wet market posed many challenges to the camera, especially in the regards of dynamic range and mixed colours due to use of shades and large umbrellas. Also, for my first part of the review, I did not want to do something too intense or demanding, thus a relaxing walk along a market on a slow morning with the E-P3 was a great preview on what the camera could offer.

New Olympus 12.3 MP Sensor

Now comes the huge sigh of relief for many Olympus users. In the E-P3 there is a new Olympus own-designed 12MP sensor. The dynamic range has finally been improved significantly. Two of the limitations which the general photography society has been drumming out loud on Olympus smaller 4/3 and micro 4/3 sensors are the dynamic range and high ISO noise (which I shall be exploring in another separate review entry, soon). One of the reasons why I chose Pudu Wet Market was because of very, very difficult lighting conditions. Strong backlit situation was encountered in almost all photographs, yet the background was not washed out into white completely. Shades were everywhere due to use of large umbrellas and there were great difference of exposure value between the brightly sun-lit area against places under the shades. There were several people with white shirts standing directly under the late morning sun, but the shirts were not completely blown out. You can still see the fabric details and the wrinkle lines. The transition between the darkest regions in the photograph to the brightest was smooth and very gradual. Without the need to compare side by side, it is very apparent the E-P3 has better dynamic range than E-5 and E-PL1.

The overall color output of the images from the E-P3 was noticeably different from what was seen on previous PEN or Olympus cameras. I find that the E-P3 did a great job in separating the colors, resulting in somewhat more realistic, and very close to what the eye sees. The color rendition under difficult lighting situations (usually due to multiple source of light or color casts) did very well in producing a well-balanced and “believeable” representation of the colors. You will notice that the camera does maintain certain color cast, which can be evidently seen with the eye on location, yet the images seem pleasing and real. As always, Olympus signature natural and comfortable looking skin tone was well preserved, and I am glad that Olympus did.

1/30s, F/2, ISO400

Red and green, I just love Olympus color !!

1/50s, F/2, ISO200

If you can get close enough, the 12mm lens is a great portrait lens too.

1/1250s, F/2, ISO200

Although under direct sunlight exposure, the E-P3 managed to preserve the details of the bean sprouts well enough that you can still see each strand of them in the basin.

1/250s, F/2, ISO200

1/125s, F/2, ISO200

1/60s, F/2, ISO200

The image just came out great with so many color combinations.

1/500s, F/2, ISO200

The 12mm lens is sure a killer as a close up lens.

1/400s, F/2, ISO400

To fit more into a single frame, you do need a wide angle lens.

We all know how beautiful Olympus colors have always been, and I am very glad to see how the colors can be even more realistic. The only problem I had with Olympus color in the previous cameras (E-5, E-PL1 and E-520) was how easily the red can be overblown and appear too contrasty, but fortunately this is no longer a problem for E-P3. The new sensor captures the Red more faithfully, and you will see many red chilies basking in rich, hot saturated red color. I am sure the color processing has something to do with the new Trupic 6 processing engine as well, but I believe the sensor must be able to capture the colors as realistically as possible.

One important thing to note is that the E-P3 inherits the “fine detail processing” technology, which made E-5 so great in retaining the details by optimizing the per-pixel sharpness of the sensor resolution. From this shooting session in the market, all the photographs came out really sharp. I must also be honest to admit that the level of sharpness and details were not as impressive as seen in my previous review works with the E-5, but I strongly believe that was due to the usage of completely different set of lenses (I was using High Grade 4/3 Olympus Zuiko lenses, and we all know how incredibly sharp 11-22mm and 50mm can be). Therefore, it was not exactly a fair comparison. Will the images be as sharp as the E-5 if similar lenses were used for testing? Maybe, maybe not, I have not the answer for that. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the overall sharpness.

M.Zuiko 12mm F2 lens

Finally, Olympus has released a prime lens with fast aperture. I was fortunate enough to have the new 12mm F2 lens for my review purposes. I have used only the 12mm F2 lens for all the photographs in this entry. It is not exactly an ultra wide angle, because the 12mm is just slightly wider than the 14mm kit lens. Nevertheless, most photographers who have had experience in the field would really treasure the versatility and characteristics of a fast wide angle prime lens.

I find the 12mm being mounted on the E-P3 to be a wonderful combination for this particular shooting session. The lens is not as small and light as a pancake (how I wish it was) but it was small and light enough to carry around comfortably and yet it provides sufficient size for support by the left hand. Hand gripping and ergonomics are important, and it felt right in my hands. I was never exactly a fan of everything tiny and small, I want to be able to feel the weight of the camera and lens on my hand to properly hold it and shoot with it.

1/800s, F/2, ISO400

Another example of how fast the autofocus was, I snapped this even before the lady on the right had the chance to react. She moved away after I pointed the camera at her, but sorry, she was too late !!

1/640s, F/2, ISO640

Even against a completely harsh background, the image did not look too bad at all, and you can still see the detail on most part of the image.

1/160s, F/2, ISO400

Yes the top of the umbrella was overblown, but if you look closely, the original color is still there, and the lines were intact. Impressive !!

1/320s, F/2, ISO200

This guy appeared out of nowhere, and I just pointed the camera at him uot of reflex and snapped. the focus was not on his face, but who cares, I still love the shot.

1/1000s, F/2, ISO200

1/160s, F/2, ISO500

This is another example of what I was referring to, the colour cast presence in the photo being preserved for the natural feel, yet the colour balance looks quite good.

1/1250s, F/2, ISO500

1/320s, F/2, ISO200

From the lines at the background, it is evident that the barrel distortion was very well controlled (no curvature on the straight lines). Perspective distortion was intentional (pointing the lens downwards, slanting vertical lines).

The possibility that the 12mm field of view provided while shooting in the market was fabulous. I was constantly stuck in places with constraint space and there was just not much space to move backwards or sideways to recompose a shot. Having a wide angle solves this problem; it fits a lot more subjects into a frame. In addition to that, the 12mm wide angle lens can be used for some creative composition alternatives, such as wide angle close up shots. Although at wide angle 12mm, the barrel distortion and perspective distortion were very well controlled. I am not sure if the distortion was digitally corrected by the camera’s JPEG processing or it was due to the natural lens characteristics, but that does not matter to me because what I really cared about was the final image output. However, do take note that perspective distortion may exist due to the user’s composition arrangements, for example by placing the subject at the extreme edge. I personally take advantage of perspective exaggeration and incorporate them in some of my shots, because I love it that way (personal preference).

Autofocus with this lens was at God-like speed. It was incredibly fast that as you click the shutter button it just snaps, and the focusing was dead accurate. I shall elaborate more on the camera’s autofocus performance in my coming reviews.

As a wide angle lens, the resolution and details captured by the lens was excellent. Even being shot at the widest aperture opening of F2, the sharpness delivered was very desirable. This was truly something amazing, because any wide angle lenses being used at its widest end and largest aperture (e.g. 10-22mm F2.8 lens, being shot at 10mm at F2.8) would exhibit disappointing loss of details and overall softness in the image. Thankfully this was not the case for the 12mm F2. The sharpness only gets better when I stopped the aperture down to F4-5.6. Apart from that, an important trait that made Olympus stand out from the rest of the crowd is the corner to corner sharpness, a quality that was inherited from the Olympus Four-Thirds system. In contrary to popular belief that larger sensor produces better image, Olympus has created an optimized sensor size together with a plethora of fully digital lenses designed specifically from scratch for that sensor that produces image quality that are close to technical perfection. This enables Olympus system to achieve admirable corner to corner sharpness in their image output.

1/200s, F/2, ISO500

1/800s, F/2, ISO500

Can't believe my dynamic range claims? Look at the left side of the cat's whiskers against the bright background, you can still see each individual strand of whiskers. Look at the 100% crop below for clearer view.

100% crop from previous cat image.

Such great highlight retention, even against bright background, is impressive. Although the part of the frame was out of focus, but you can still see the fur details, stunning !!

1/15s, F/8, ISO200

Now lets look at an extreme contrast case. The inner shop is all dark, yet the top floor wall was bathed in bright direct sunlight. Yet, the overall dynamic range came out well balanced.

100% crop from previous image.

Check out the details in the shadows, everything can be visibly seen.

100% crop on the bottom right corner of the image.

As mentioned, the corner to corner sharpness is the strength of Olympus Micro 4/3 system (and 4/3 system as well).

1/800s, F/2, ISO200

It is indeed remarkable to see Olympus moving forward and making more and more significant improvements on their new PEN line-ups. Finally, the long over-due new Olympus own-designed image sensor that produces much improved dynamic range and realistic color reproduction is a huge step forward. The addition of a 12mm F2 wide angle prime lens was indeed a huge welcome, and God knows we all need and desperately want fast primes, more please!!!

In my next coming entry, PART 2 of Olympus E-P3 review, I shall be reviewing the claim of “World’s Fastest Autofocus” on the E-P3. How true is that? We shall find out soon.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to say something in the comment section on this blog entry, or email me directly athamish7ian@gmail.com

Wolfgang,so glad to hear from you again. Thanks so much for your kind comments. I believe real life situations are more crucial hencd im doing a more hands on review. Hope others find this helpful as well

Wolfgang,so glad to hear from you again. Thanks so much for your kind comments. I believe real life situations are more crucial hencd im doing a more hands on review. Hope others find this helpful as well

Yet again you've proven to Olympus that you're the best person to evaluate their latest camera. The EP3 looks very promising, the pictures looks very sharp, and colours are vibrant and very close to real life. Still it would have been nice to see a built in EVF or OVF within the camera & not as an accessory. Otherwise its almost the perfect camera. Any low light pics/review in the works? So many questions from you followers eh Robin? The PEN Pro version is not too far away and I'm anxiously awaiting for it's arrival. I guess my biggest querrie to you would be how does the EP3 compare to the E5?

Thanks for sharing this review to everyone especially to us die hard Oly fanatics. Job well done!

Hello eric,thanks for your kind comments, I appreciate it a lot!! Apart from better handling and much superior optics selection, I dare say that the e-p3 is very close, if not better than the e-5.. Of course there is a place for each camera, and perhaps in future pen models with built in evf, they will surpass dslr in all aspects. High iso noise performance will discussed separately in another entry. Do come back.

No... a cliff hanger review! :) Thanks for your report and some great candid snaps. Very much looking forward to parts 2, 3, and beyond of your review. Fastest AF in the world? I'm almost afraid to let myself believe it. Hurry up with that part 2 :)

I'm not convinced yet. Show us a contrasty landscape shot, please WITHOUS ADJUSTING BRIGTNESS/CONTRAST - then we will talk about dynamic range :) You haven't proved anything with this pictures, because you could underexpose and then adjust Levels in postproscessing.

Amazing shots as usual Robin. A nice surprise to read an EP3 review so soon. Is there any way you could get hold of a m4/3 to 4/3 adaptor and try your 50 f2 and 11-22 f2.8-3.5 with the EP3? I would love to see if focusing has improved with those lenses as well.

"Now comes the huge sigh of relief for many Olympus users. In the E-P3 there is a new Olympus own-designed 12MP sensor. The dynamic range has finally been improved significantly. Two of the limitations which the general photography society has been drumming out loud on Olympus smaller 4/3 and micro 4/3 sensors are the dynamic range and high ISO noise (which I shall be exploring in another separate review entry, soon)."

No, don't believe yet your dynamic range comments. I see shadows are pretty bad. So we get once again better highlights at the huge expense of shadows. Judging from what I am seeing, this sensor hasn't improved much at all from the last generation, and it's a tweaked sensor, not a re-design.

We'll see when RAW data comes out at DXo and others, but I am not seeing it. I hate to say this but unless you do side by side shots with say the E-5, this is all a bit of a placebo effect.

The cat whiskers? Doable with a 620 - sorry.

Thanks for sharing the shots though. Once again, look at those shadows. At low ISO- issues.

Dear raist3d,my report is based on my own user experience. If you need numbers and comparisons to justify the findings I believe those answers can be found everywhere on technical professional photography review sites. I will let them do their job and I am sure they will be truthful. The fur and whiskers, will be blown out under afternoon backlit situation, do check the time in the exif.

Robin, if what you said it's true, I wouldn't be seeing the very same issues in the images I am seeing in many real world production samples floating around the web. As soon as ISO 200, splotches on the sky.

I am sorry but I have seen this kind of stuff before. The excitement seems to get in the way. If you shoot side by side with say the E-5, it may be very revealing if this is the case or not.

For the DR to have really improved and the noise, the artifacts I am seeing needed to be improved. And I am seeing them from the lowest ISO. Another thing to keep in mind, you aren't the only one with Pen 3 experience around.

remember: you can't focus on the highlights only, total DR includes shadows and the shadows here from what I see are suffering.

Hi Robin, thanks for the first chapter of your review. As always a great read. I'm a liitle bit disappointed due tio what you wrote about the details. After all, this is the first µFt 'HG' Zuiko and I'd expected it to deliver on the same level as the FT Zuiko 50 2.0. What a pity.

Anyway, may I make a request regarding your AF test. Could you please check if the FT Zuikos are also acceleratzed by the new FAST AF system - and if yes - if the camera also features a C-AF that deserves to be called like that. I'd really appreciate to get some information regarding these issues.

A Pen PRO that looks like a Olympus E620....built in EVF...weather sealed....updated sensor...optimized 4/3 lens compatibility...better ISO and DR performance than the E5. One can only dream. The EP3 does look good though.

My review is done in real life situation where lighting is rarely ideal, hence the appearance of harsher contrast, especially in shadow region. As far as I can remember, those black regions in the images were truly black to the eyes. If you have had shot in open air market you would understand how horrible the condition would be, with all the backlit and shades against bright sky. I am not expecting miracles to happen from the E-P3, but I do think it handled the dynamic range extremely well. to expect details in every part of the photo is pushing it a little too far, don't you think? there are times black is just black, and that is why it is called shadow.

I do not intend to make side by side comparisons, because professional technical review sites will do that. There is no point for me to be redundant, or make such technical claims. instead I chose to produce images shot in practical conditions, as if how I would use the camera for my own usual shutter therapy sessions.

When the camera was being loaned to me, there were NO statements provided by Olympus. However, I was told by Olympus Malaysia's representative that the sensor in E-P3 is:1) New2) Different from previous 12MP sensors3) Designed by Olympus itself

I understand your concern, that it could be nothing more than a tweaked same old brand new 12mp sensor, but whether it is what you think it is, I cannot tell. I just merely conveyed what was being told to me about the sensor, and it is NOT technically wrong either way.

You were right about shadow detail being important. That is the reason why I included the last image. the shoplot was shot under bright mid day sun, white walls at the top of the frame were NOT washed out, yet the heavily shaded area inside the shop still exhibits tonnes of details. If this is not enough to prove that the dynamic range is good both in highlight and shadow region, I dont know how else I can do to show you. Perhaps you were expecting a little too much? I mentioned the dynamic range improved significantly and noticeably, but I certainly never mentioned it was perfect.

I have shot with E-5 and E-PL1 almost every single week and as soon as I used the E-P3 I instantly noticed how much different the files turned out to be, especially in terms of dynamic range. I know it is difficult for you to accept this without some sort of verification (I understand because I am an engineer, we all need supporting evidence) but if I were to provide such comparisons, I would cross the line to be a "technical review site" and I don't think I will do a better job than other bigger site such as DPreview ot Cameralabs. Why not just let them do their job, and provide a much more accurate laborarory controlled test results?

I am not here to tell you that my comments are absolute, yes, my claims are open to debate and argument. Nonetheless, I made my review based on my own opinion. It may not be acceptable by many, but it is about what I did with the camera. I hope you can understand that.

Hello Nicholaus,Thank you so much for your encouraging comments, and it is so nice to hear from you again !!Initially I was dissapointed withe the resolution too, but I do honestly think that by comparing to to the 50mm F2 is a stretch too far. The 50mm is a macro lens, one of the sharpest lens out there, and we all know that any wide angle lens is usually quite soft. Yet the 12mm is showing that it is very sharp, and that itself is an amazing fact. Not to mention the distortion is very well controlled. For a wide angle lens, it is very admirable I must say. And of course, on the M4/3 lineup, it is by far the sharpest. About your other question pertaining the AF on older 4/3 lenses, sorry, there is no noticeable improvement. The focusing on both my 11-22 and 50mm remained slow, and they hunted a lot.

Oly Fan,That would be my dream too !!

Hey Ma55imo, Thanks for the kind comments. Yes, indeed in real life shooting situations it did not disappoint. In fact I was rather impressed with what I see.

Hello Gabriel,I was loaned the unit about 2 weeks ago, and have returned to them a week ago. There were a few leaks spotted online, mostly reported at 43rumors website, which were very accurate. I guess Olympus has coordinated the review units more carefully this time.

Hi Robin, it's great to learn that you had been asked to do a hands-on review of E-P3.

Have you tried it with 14-42mm II R with v1.1? It blazing fast!

Also, it is the color reproduction that is improved not the dynamic range. Different shades of colors are better reproduced in TruePix VI image processor. The SAT is also vastly improved, especially the shadow part.

The strength of the Trinity lies in the image quality. The flagship E-P3 AF performance is top-notch with it Fast Acceleration Sensor Technology. ;-)

Hello Dennis,Thanks for the kind words, I was lucky enough to be asked to review the E-P3. I beg to differ in opinion, the E-P3 does show improvement in terms of dynamic range. Perhaps it is a little difficult to describe but the open air wet market is a very difficult place to photograph, and the E-P3 handled it well. yes I have tried the new kit lens too, it is fast indeed !!

Very nice article Robin.I'm not sure what Olympus did to E-P3, but I can certainly see that IQ, and especially color quality is very nice.Dynamic range seems excellent too - I know these types of scenes where parts in shadow are so much darker compared to parts directly exposed to the Sun.It's like being out on the noon summer sun and then entering dimly lit or a dark room - you can't see anything before your eyes adjust, and camera seems to have handled it very nicely.

Few full sized samples I've seen seem to be plagued by relatively heavy handed noise reduction because reviewers probably kept NR to Standard which is not a good idea - I bet much better results will be obtainable using RAW for high ISO shooting.

I love the new lenses and autofocus, plus touch lcd really seems to be a nice method of taking stealthy shots.These are far more important bonuses than half a stop better high iso in my book.

Robin, you've taken these photos in VERY harsh light - that is for sure. But exactly how harsh? We cannot tell this. Please post a landscape photo, SOOC. Then us photgrahers can asess if the clouds are blown, what is the color of the sky etc. It will tell us MUCH MORE about the camera than these photos. SOOC please.

BTW, shadow detail is very good - no problems here!!! My main concern is highlights retention.

hello Marin,Thank you so much for such kind comments. yes indeed the image quality is very good. About your concern on the NR, I think it is not so much on the camera but possibly due to the M.Zuiko lenses, they are good, but not as sharp as zuiko 4/3 lenses. yes, if you set the noise filter to standard the image does appear to be smudged somehow. Setting it to low seems good. E-P3 is indeed an improvement, and yes the 12mm is quite a beast on its own.

hello bartosz,Malaysia does not always have blue skies, we get ugly white, not because of clouds, but due to dust or haze, and landscape shots look ugly because of this. Air pollution is an issue here. So you wont see landscape shots coming from me.

I have seen pictures at Dcresources and there is an improvment in DR but VERY MARGINAL. In other words: DR is still poor. Sony SLT series or NEX series offer much better DR. I'm beggining to think this will be a flop for Olympus. Nothing impressive here, besides fast autofocus. Now I'm waiting for the new Samsung NX20. Wonder what their new sensor will bring :)

Bartosz,Of course we are all entitled to our own opinion, but having used the E-P3 myself, i strongly believe it will be a success. No doubt about that. I am interested to see what Samsung is coming up with too.

bartosz,The image does appear punchy and perhaps there is too much saturation going on. There are MANY preset settings for the picture mode such as "Vivid", "Natural", "Portrait" and "muted" and each of them are fully customizable in terms of contrast and saturation. You can tweak it in camera before you shoot. So it should not be an issue.

"The major issue with the E-P3 came at moderate to high ISO performance. At nearly every ISO setting along its default 200-12800 range, dynamic range lacked behind its competition in the market. Image noise also quickly became a problem at ISO speeds greater than 800. While noise reduction greatly limited that, it does so at the expense of most of the image’s fine detail. The E-P3 did have phenomenal color accuracy in bright light conditions, and produces some very attractive images, but it will require a combination of custom tinkering and higher quality lenses to get the most out of this camera in anything less than ideal lighting conditions."

Bartosz,Noise filter is customizable. I set mine to Low, if you really care about details, you can turn it OFF. ISO noise is still well controlled. It is lacking behind competition, what competition? Panasonic? Sony? Sony has always been known to have great DR. Panasonic I am not sure. I never claimed E-P3's DR to be better than any camera. However, I mentioned the DR has been significantly improved from previous Olympus models, that much I dare to claim.

hello Bartosz,Olympus is not exactly an easy camera to use, takes a lot to know the ins and outs of the camera. But once you get the hang of it, it can produce wonders.

hey Anonymous,Thanks. I will post up the next review in a day or two's time. I did not encounter the red dot problem as seen in E-PL2. But it does not mean the problem is not there. Lets hope someone tested that issue and verify it.

I would like to see your next test on the backlight. I am concerned with the red dot as I got in the EPL2 when shooting against the Sun to create the star effect (F22 applied). Do we see its appearance or not in EP3.

Dear Aprison san,Thanks for your kind comments, I appreciate it. However I have returned the camera to Olympus Malaysia and I did not run any test about the red dot. So sorry about that. I am sure someone else in the world did the test. Do keep an eye out.

I guess everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. What really matters is how well you cope to your cameras weakness and strengths. If you really want excellent DR, High ISO performance, and superb IQ then go FULL FRAME or medium format. It comes with a price though.....an expensive one to be exact. If you want portability then get a rangefinder type of full frame equipment like the Leica, but again with an expensive price tag or the recent camera from Fuji like the X100. Great camera but limited by the fixed lens attached to it. Point of the matter is that Olympus cameras are not for everyone. Each camera is unique in it's own way just like people. If your unhappy about the current camera your using then it's time to move on.

Canikoly,Well said, I could not have voiced it up better myself. each system has its strengths and weaknesses, there is no perfect system. It is crucial to choose the system that works best, and subsequently learn to overcome its weaknesses and maximize its potential.Thanks for the compliments.

Bartosz Dawidowski, you're such a pain. If you really want a perfect DR, go for full frame then or X100, or any other camera that SUITS you. No need for Robin to prove to you this and that. If you're still not convinced, then MOVE ON.

hello Aprison,I sure hope Olympus has fixed the red dot issue, I understand how difficult that must be shooting directly into the sun. I have not used any panasonic micro 4/3 cameras to comment on their colours. Nonetheless, the colours in the market is not the best to judge overall color representation, because of heavy shades and colour casts due to multiple colored umbrellas and canvas covers. The lighting has strong stray color casts. Any camera would struggle to handle this kind of lighting and mixed colors.

Hello Anonymous,Cool down mate. Bartosz should have emailed me directly instead of venting his personal thoughts in public. Nonetheless, we are all entitled to our own views. I have already mentioned several times, for technically accurate data, wait for professional reviews such as DPreview. I cannot make any absolute conclusions.

Hello Robin !!I think this is the first time in 5 years of my blogging life another person with the name of Robin commented on my blog. Thanks for the kind words. Indeed, one day, the pro body will be released. Will be eagerly waiting for that.

I have to agree with many people concern about red dot issue that mutilated Olympus E-PL2 camera. Its essential that Olympus address this issue immediately on their E-P3 model and on all future offerings. They don't want to go down in history as Leica, who is known as notorious Red Dot issue camera.

However, last week Leica announce that after years of painstaking research and engineering, brand new Professional M9 body will be coming soon. This new body will come at $8000 premium, which as agreed by many a cheap price to pay for getting rid of a red dot issue. Bravo Leica!!! Olympus has some homework to do ;)

Hello vadim,I understand and agree with you that red dot is an issue. I shoot to the sun directly a lot with my e5 and epl1 and I dont seem to encounter such issue. It should be isolated to epl2 only. I sure hope it wont hapen in ep3, I did not test it.ssue. I shoot to the sun directly a lot with my e5 and epl1 and I dont seem to encounter such issue. It should be isolated to epl2 only. I sure hope it wont hapen in ep3, I did not test it.

Hello vadim,thanks for the compliments. But I dont understand you when you said I dont read, and certainly you were not joking when you were talking about the red dot issue right? We all know how serious the issue is and I did mention I agreed with you. But I also believe that problem is only isolated in epl2 only. Prove me wrong otherwise.

Robin,I was funny... really...Here, let me explain.Olympus = red dot = no good.Leica = red dot logo = good.New pro M9 with no red dot logo = more $$$ = issue fixed. (http://dpreview.com/news/1106/11062110leicam9p.asp)All together = a sarcastic joke.I understand that as an Engineer you always looking for a solution to a problem, but in my post there was no problem, there was just a joke. :)

Hi Robin, enjoyed reading the review! I won't be buying the P3 as I got my PL2 not long ago, but I'm curious if the new lenses will work as well with the PL2, especially on the focusing speed. Or is the fast focusing speed due to the improvements of the P3?

Dear Vivien,Thanks for your kind comments. The new lenses work well with your E-PL2, no problem at all, but they will not be as fast as they are on E-P3. To bring out the best of the speed you need the new improved focusing system in the E-P3 body.

I am very impressed. Your photos are just so clever and the camera certainly seems to be a good tool for you to use. In your own photography do you miss an eye-level finder? I have been looking to getting a better camera to complement my Panasonic travel zoom, while the lack of a finder is a possible problem, I certainly like the rest of the camera, and as a long-time user of Olympus 35 mm cameras, I would like to continue the association.

Hey John,Thanks for your kind compliments !!Yes I do miss the viewfinder very much. I still love the joy of using the optical viewfinder. I don't think the current electronic viewfinder is good enough to replace the optical viewfinder.

thank you so much for your review... I recently bought an epl2 with a 14-150mm lens aside from the 14-42 kit lens... am so wanting the new pens and i haven't even used my epl2 that much! I wonder how the 14-150mm will fare with the EP3 and EPL3?

hello teys,I am glad you liked the review. I am very sure the 14-150mm would perform very fast and accurately on the new E-P3 and E-Pl3. They should work flawlessly. You must have loved the 14-150mm lens very much, such a convenient and versatile lens to have !!

Hi Robin,Excellent review. It clearly shows what the camera is capable of with your excellent images taken at the most demanding situation.Congratulations and thank you.

A note to Bartosz Dawidowski:The review done by the site you have mentioned (http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Olympus-E-P3-Digital-Camera-Review/Conclusion.htm) is not really up to the mark, and it cannot be said professional. You simply read their words and believe what they say is true. But in fact the still life samples comparing different cameras shows the images are shot in the most careless manner, which you can see for yourself if you care to download the images. Just download three images (here is the link http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Olympus-E-P3-Digital-Camera-Review/Sample-Photos.htm) at ISO 200 of olympus EP3 (OLYMPUS_EP3_still-isolow-full.JPG), Panasonic G3(PANASONIC_G3_still-iso200-full.jpg) and Sony nex5 (SONY-NEX-5-still-iso200-full.jpg)and compare the images for your self. Even the focus is not set properly. So that review is actually useless for any practical purpose, in my opinion.

Hello Arun VC,Thank you so much for your kind comments, I really appreciate them. Thanks also for sharing your insight and thoughts on other professional review websites. For now I do believe it is a little too early to make any final conclusions, we shall wait and see more reviews coming up, and then cross check them with each other to find consistent opinion on the camera.

Hi Robin,I agree with you. To get a better idea about the cam, it is necessary to wait for more reviews (actually it takes quite some time even to understand any given camera fully), but my point is the review site in question came to certain conclusions prematurely, and the images they posted shows it clearly, in my opinion.

Hello Arun,It is also normal to find conflicting results amongst the professional review sites, sometimes, certain aspects of the camera can be open for questions and subjective conclusions. Method of testing and comparisons can usually be variable. I agree with you on your earlier comment when it comes to focusing, at least they should get that right if they were to use the images to come to any conclusions at all, and post it up for public scrutinizing. Nothing is worse than people complaining about certain softness of the image where in fact it was due to the focusing error on the user/tester end.

Thanks for both reviews on the new FAST PEN so far - did provide a lot of very useful information for me as I like to choose my cameras manly based on sample pix.

Good point too to leave the data verification to others - one can not do both IMO, to bring out the character versus to describe it in tech specs - its two very different facets/ tasks.

There are two statements of yours that did came as kinda surprise - though possibly not meant as such.

First was when you mentioned the usual light conditions at your place (no landscape pictures from you for reasons...). This made me realize that the general color - aside from what was seen from castings on the market pix - are quite different from what we usually have where I live : clear sight and specific sunlight color due to altitude in the Alps.So I have to take this into account when trying to get a feeling for the color rendering of the new PEN generation derived from you beautiful shots.

The second information was interesting from a more technical point view - as you mentioned the FT optics you have seen hunting even with the new FAST AF.This points towards a very very basic incompatibility of those lenses with contrast AF systems - so it will be very interesting how the PRO Pen will deal with that (hard to believe Olympus will make a complete new PRO and TOP-PRO lens line up)I know its not a real issue as long as we don not force those lenses for action shots, as I use the PRO on the PL1 - but - it rather points towards a hardware upgrade for catching up when to be used with contrast AF.

In general it seems that Olympus did especially well not only with that Cameras and the admirable effort put into extremely fast and reliable auto focus but also with the strategy of product introduction this time

I strongly believe contrast detect af lenses from the FT line will benefit from the improved af on the EP-3 but not so much on what I currently have, the 50mm macro and the 1122mm lenses. I sure hope they solve this issue on the coming pro model, that would really make a huge difference.

About the color cast it was mainly due to the overhead canvas sheets and colorful umbrellas. The colora came out odd but interestingly they look very close to real life as far as my mind can remember. Yes, clear blue sky with no weird cover or shades would render very different colors either.

Doglover,perhaps the phrase "well controlled" is not the most appropriate to describe. If you have used other equivalent wide angle zoom or primes you would think that this 12mm exhibits significantly less severe perspective distortion. Go try it out and see it for yourself.

RobinIt has been awhile since I visited your blog but out of boredom today I decided to see what's new and your EP3 photos just blew me away..Love the write up on your pet cat...and the photos from the market is amazing..somehow these trades have lots to tell through their faces. Again you're the master in capturing these emotions

i WANT this camera. in fact, i'm saving for it now and i'm going to buy this camera. love your site and your dedication to olympus. there is a lot of stuff their cameras cannot do in comparison to others, but they work for me. the color is always great. i'm happy with the lens selection..especially more coming with micro 4/3s. i'm selling off my e30. i need lighter gear.

hello Peter,micro 4/3 and 4/3 share the same sensor size, in fact, the sensors are actually identical. I did not shoot with the DSLR 4/3 lenses for any of my review works. I did try some of my 4/3 lenses on the E-P3, 11-22mm F2.8-3.5 and the 50mm F2 macro. There was no noticeable improvement in AF with those old lenses.

Hello Valerie,Thank you so much for your kind words. I am sure the E-P3 will be worth the wait and effort saving up for !!

Now I understand why the PEN direction is so hot! So when Olympus eventually comes out with a "pro" version of the PEN series (equivalent or better than the current E5), I am really looking forward to see the outcome. So in the meantime, will this mean there will be no more E6 and my investment into another Zuiko lens is still worth it?

Hello Peter,E-System's future, and entire Olympus imaging division now really depends on the current PEN sales. If they are successful and raking in enough profit, everything will go on, and the E-System will continue on. However, if the current system is not making enough returns, the future will look quite uncertain for Olympus.

Thanks for the insider news. So "we" have to "all" buy Pen system so that E-series can survive; must get one for my wife then, and hopefully "all our" contributions can boost Olympus from it doldrums. Btw, how is Olympus doing from their Pen sales? There's alot of competition out there, hope they can come out with a pro series @ a competitive price to quash the competition. Otherwise, I see they have no more than 6 months lead in their Pen category.

Hey, I stumbled upon this review less than a week ago while surveying for a new camera and guess what, today I become a proud owner of the E-P3! Haha I think you had a bit of influence in my decision, so thanks. Am looking forward for new adventures with this camera!

You are doing great job! All of your posts are useful and full of pictures. The pictures are saying itself about image quality of camera and lenses. Thank you very much for sharing all of your experience.

Thanks for the review. I just purchased an EP-3 and thought I would read some reviews while i wait for the battery to charge. I upgraded from an EPL-1 which I had for a couple of years and had some fine results with. It is nice to know that an expert like you has confidence in the camera. I have an original Olympus Pen F which my father gave me when I was 21, 39 years ago!

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